Slayers Retry
by Eigwayne
Summary: The young dragon Valteira joins Lina on her aimless wanderings. But Xelloss has a few surprises for the pair, regarding a past best left hidden. Finished! About time! PG rating is rounding up a bit...
1. Newsflash! Valteira grown-up!

SLAYERS RETRY

DISCLAIMER

"Slayers" and its characters are property of Rui Araizumi, Hajime Kanzaka, Kadokawa Shoten, TV Tokyo, SOFTX, and Marubeni in Japan. American distribution by Software Sculptors (and ADV for the movies but we're not getting into that). I do not own the characters from this series, and am not and have no intention of making money off them. This is a fanfiction for enjoyment only. Love Slayers, don't hate me, and all will be good.

INTRODUCTION

This story takes place about 17-18 years after Slayers Try. The rest will be revealed in the story.

*************

*Part 1-Newsflash! Valtiera Grown-up!*

Knock Knock Knock

Filia looked up from her pottery. "We're open!"

Knockknockknockknock!

"I said the door was open!"

BANG!

She scrambled around the half-unpacked crates of merchandise.

BANG!

Silently swearing at the incompetence of Jiras and Grabos, who were on their third lunchbreak, Filia reached the door.

BANG!

"I said come in, you-LINA!" The diminutive sorceress had her hand raised to pound on Filia's door once again.

"About time, Filia!" she whined.

"The door was unlocked."

"Oh. Hehe." She looked sheepish. "Sorry Filia."

"Come in, Lina," Filia said, a frustrated smile on her face. "If you go out back, Grabos and Jiras are having lunch"

"LUNCH?!" Lina disappeared. Filia sighed, hoping that they'd have enough food left for dinner.

********

Filia looked at Lina, scarfing down the majority of her week's grocery shopping. She hadn't changed. Oh, she didn't wear such bright clothes, and her form had filled out (only a little) and she was (barely) taller, but her face was the same, especially that frightening look as she fought over dinner

"I'm home!" a male voice called.

"We're in the dining room," Filia called back. Lina looked up (finally).

He paused in the doorway, taking in the scene-Jiras and Grabos arguing over the last unclaimed chicken leg; Filia sitting out of the way; the little redhead leaning over, paused in the act of commandeering said drumstick.

"Lina-san, what a surprise!" She plunked back down in her chair with her prize and grinned, first at the scowling Jiras and Grabos, then at the boy in the doorway.

"Val! I almost didn't recognize you!" He was older than when she last visited, years ago. But younger than when they'd first met, when he'd been the Mazoku Valgarv. His pale green hair was shoulder-length and held by a black band, but no longer stuck up like a deranged mop.

"I've gotten older, obviously. It's been" he ticked off the time on his fingers "seven years."

"It was at his ninth birthday party," Filia added. "You bought the cake, and the cutest little shirt! You ended up wearing the cake and eating the shirt, Valteira."

"Oh, stop it Mom! I did not!" The boy flushed.

Filia winked at Lina. She grinned. Val had turned dragon to impress Junior, two at the time, and had crashed into the towering cake Lina had bought (she'd been hoping to grab a nice portion for herself), and while licking the new shirt clean, had ripped it to shreds with his sharp little dragon teeth.

"Anyway, I saved you dinner," Filia said to the boy.

"Great! I'm starved!" Filia giggled.

"He doesn't eat like you, Lina, but he's getting there." Lina cocked an eyebrow.

"It'll take that stickboy a hundred and fifty-three years to compare to me in ANYTHING-especially my favorite hobby!"

"Stickboy!' Are you insinuating that I don't feed my Valteira enough?!" Filia nearly screeched, her tail poking out from beneath her dress.

"No, just that he can't compare to ME."

Jiras and Grabos looked at Val. "Are you going to take that, Boss?"

"Nope."

"But you're not doing anything!"

"If there's one thing I've learned from Mom," Val gesticulated with his drumstick, "it's that immediate retaliation is predictable and therefore, easily dodged."

"Valteira, don't play with your food."

"Yes, Mom"

********

Lina sipped her tea, holding the warm cup in both hands. She wasn't a big tea drinker, but this was nice.

"I'm glad you came, Lina," Filia said sadly. She sat with her hands in her lap, looking down.

"Hmmm? Why so sad?"

"Valteirawants to leave. He wants to go see things, to travel. I didn't want him to, but now you're here"

"I'm not a babysitter, Filia."

"Buthe's only a boyhe doesn't want me alongwe talked about thatyou know what he IS"

"I didn't say I wouldn't." Lina winked. "I just wanted to make sure you knew that I'm not a babysitter. For future reference."

"You handled Gourry for all those years! My Valteira is more grown-up than he ever was!" Filia hmphed. Lina sighed.

"Whatever you say, Mommy."

*******

"Did you remember to pack clean clothes? And a toothbrush?"

"Yes, Mom."

"That's my boy!" Filia crooned. She was exasperating! Lina just sat back and stayed out of her way.

"Valteira-sama" Jiras looked like he was on the verge of tears. So did Grabos. Lina wasn't sure about Val. He looked like he might break down. Or hit something. He obviously wasn't enjoying this good-bye.

"Filia, we have to get going soon. I want to reach the next town before dinner," Lina interrupted. She patted her pocket. Filia had given her quite a sum! Enough for a whole week, which is a considerable amount, with Lina's restaurant bills. (She'd given Val some cash too, with instructions to not let Lina stick him with those bills. This was supposed to be for his education' she'd thought.)

Filia hugged Val, and kissed him on the cheek.

"MO-OM!"

"Come home safe."

Lina started walking. Val followed. He turned and looked over his shoulder. Filia stood in the doorway, looking very sad, with Jiras and Grabos waving like idiots from behind her. She managed a smile when she saw him looking. He smiled back at them, and trotted to catch up with Lina.


	2. SORRY! The Aerial Dragon Slave

Part 2- SORRY! The Aerial Dragon Slave!

************

"Tell me again why we're running for our lives, Lina?" 

Lina Inverse and Valteira Ul Copt charged away from their former destination, a very large and very rich bandit enclave. Unfortunately, this enclave had very many bandits, who were currently chasing the pair with their "pet", Rover thesomething large with big claws and slimy fangs and multiple tails. 

"WAAAHHHH!!!!! I didn't know there were so many of them!" The bandits swarmed over the hill. Val snarled and stopped. 

"Val! What're you doing!? RUN!" The boy sprouted wings and grew scales. He was, after all, a dragon, and why should a dragon (not to mention a world-famous sorcery-genius) run from bandits, even if they had a monster? The Last of the Ancient Dragons was no coward! 

"Lina! Get on!" He held out a claw for her to climb on while he breathed fire at the suddenly startled bandits. She clambered onto Val's back. 

"What are all of you afraid of?" the bandit leader hollered. "Rover can take him!" Rover roared. 

"But Boss, the kid just turned into thatThing!" Boss blinked. 

"I object to that!" Val growled. "I am not a THING! Iam a DRAGON!" He polished a claw on his chest. "And a damn fine one at that." 

"Huh?" Boss shook his head. It must've jogged something loose, because he looked a little less clueless. "Rover! Get them! There's no way a flat-chested runt and an under-fed brat can beat us!" Or maybe not. 

"'Flat-chested'?" Uh-oh. We all know how Lina feels about comments like this 

"'Under-fed'?" And Val is sensitive about his weight. He can't help it if he looks anorexic 

"'RUNT?'" 

"'BRAT?'" 

Val roared and spat flame at the bandit army. He obviously forgot his little thing about immediate retribution from Part 1. But I guess tactics don't apply to bandits. 

"Darkness beyond twilight" Lina started to chant. She seemed to have forgotten that she was riding dragon-back 

"Crimson beyond blood" The bandits started scattering as she continued. Val's wings flapped as he took off. He had no idea what she was doing. 

"I pledge myself" Val flew a circle around the bandits, spewing fire. He was pleased to note Boss trying to extinguish his hair. 

"Let all the fools" Rover didn't look too happy either. Hehehe. 

"Lina. Wha-" Val wondered why she was chanting a bit too late. 

"Dragon Slave!" 

"DRAGON SLAVE!" Val backpedaled in the air, flapping furiously to escape. The force of the spell helped a little 

The crimson explosion blasted the bandits. Seemingly unsatisfied with this, it spread. Val flew as fast as dragonly possible, but he could feel it catching up. His tail felt hot. Lina screamed and grabbed his scales in an attempt to hold on. The dragon wailed as he tried harder to flee. 

All for nothing. The devastating spell overtook them. Val felt one of his wings singe, felt himself going down 

*******

"Val!" 

Lina held on as the dragon's flight swung downwards. 'He's gonna crash! No!' Still, she couldn't levitate an entire dragon, even a young and therefore small one. Herself, however 

"Levitation!" She watched as Val crashed and slid, making a rather impressive groove in the earth. He reverted to his human form (making the groove seem that much more impressive). Lina floated to the ground, landing gently on her toes. 

Val raised his head. 

"'Dragon Slave'? From dragon-back?" 

"Sorry, Val." 

"You're insane." 

"I forgot." He exhaled, a soft, exasperated sigh, and flopped back down. 

"Good night." Lina shrugged. She chanted a Recovery spell, sat down next to the unconscious boy, and raided his pack for food.

************

Note: Lina actually Dragon Slaved from Filia's back, but it's too late to change the plot here now. It's called "suspension of disbelief" people. Besides, it's kind of amusing.


	3. Horror! Dinner at Gourry's

Part 3-Horror! Dinner At Gourry's!

*********

Val awoke to a horrible grumbling sound. He leapt to his feet and looked for the attacker. 

"Sorry," he heard Lina say. "It's just my tummy." He looked down where the sorceress sat. She smiled and patted her belly. "I'm hungry." Val's empty stomach chose this time to speak up. 

"Me too." 

"Let's go. Gourry lives near here. We can have dinner with him!" She started off. Val followed, of course.

*****

They reached a medium-sized house and knocked on the door. It was answered by a girl of about six with straight, dark hair. 

"Mommy! Daddy! Lina-san is here!" she shouted in an annoyingly shrill little girl voice. "Hi Lina-san! Whose your friend?" 

"Hey, Nierry. This is Valteira," Lina said, patting his shoulder. 

"Lina? Hey, Lina!" came Gourry's voice. He and Sylphiel appeared. 

"Gourry! Sylphiel!" "Lina-san." Val stood back until the hugging and shouting of names was finished. 

"You remember Valteira," she finally said, gesturing to the green-haired boy. 

"Valwho?" Gourry looked blank. Lina bonked him on the head. 

"Welcome, Valteira-san," Sylphiel said, taking his hands and pulling him into the house. "You've gotten so big! But you're a teenager now, aren't you?" 

"Yes, Sylphiel-san," he said, trying not to gag. He HATED this. 

"Val!" exclaimed a tiny girl. "ValteiRAHAHAHA!!!!!" She laughed an annoying two-year-old laugh. 

"Lina, this is our youngest, Delfi," Sylphiel said, picking up the girl. 

"Sylphiel," Lina shivered. "How can you have so many kids?" She thought of the pain, the screaming, the diapers They were cute, but not cute enough to put up with all that. 

"Gourry and I only have three," she laughed. Sylphiel obviously enjoyed having a family. Lina shivered again. 

"Val-who?" Gourry asked. 

*****

Val and Lina sat in the guest-room while Sylphiel made dinner and Gourry and the kids washed up. They could hear the kids running around. 

"Actually," Val was saying, "I haven't seen them in three years." 

"Two and a half for me," Lina said. "They're my friends and all, but I'm not big on little kids." 

"So you didn't like me?" 

"Especially not you! Filia made me change your diaper once, and you bit me!" Val's eyes bugged out, and his face turned an interesting shade of red, which went quite well with the trim on his jacket. "At least Sylphiel and Martina never made me change diapers!" 

"You changed my diapers?" Val's mouth worked, but only those words came out. (Fishy! Glub glub.) Lina nodded. 

Silence. They could hear Nierry telling her daddy to stop setting such a bad example for Junior. 

"So, the kids are the real reason you stay away?" Val said hesitantly. "Filia mentioned that you and Gourry seemed close when you were traveling together" 

"Did she?" Val missed the warning glare in Lina's eyes. 

"And Amelia-san wondered when you were going to settle down" 

"Oh really?" Strike two. 

"And then Sylphiel-san married Gourry-san and they said 'How sad. Lina-san let him get away. She'" 

Strike three. POW! Val's out. 

He rubbed his cheek. She'd only punched him. No fireballs. Thank goodness, for Gourry's house's sake. "What was that for, Lina?" 

"Idiot." 

"What?!" 

"Stupid kid! Gourry and I traveled together! Why does everyone always think there was more to it?!" Lina was stomping and shouting (in Super-Deformed Angry Mode). "Sylphiel loved that jellyfish-brain! I don't think he's smart enough to know what love is if it FIREBALLED him!" 

"Lina?" Val didn't want to hear it. He retreated to the corner, cowering in Super-Deformed Scared-of-Lina Mode. 

"I only love food! Money! Power! The IMPORTANT stuff!" 

"Lina-san! Valteira-san!" Sylphiel's voice drifted upstairs like an angel of mercy (at least for Val). "Dinner!" 

"Dinner?" Lina's eyes glowed with joy. She bolted downstairs. Val sighed, and thanked Ceifreed for sparing him.

*****

Dinner at the Gabriev household was a war-zone. Gourry, Lina, and Junior, a nine-year-old copy of his father, battled over the food. Val desisted, for politeness' sake. Filia had always stressed dinner-table manners. Sylphiel and her two daughters ate like ladies at court -with utensils. 

"Valteira-san," Sylphiel said, smiling. "Help yourself, before there's nothing left." She laughed sweetly. She was so much milder than Filia. Val idly wondered if Sylphiel kept a mace under HER skirt as he joined the fray. 

*****

Lina leaned on the windowsill in the guestroom. 'Was that boy trying to make me mad?' she thought. 'Me and Gourry. How funny is that?' She didn't smile though. 'I do miss the jellyfish brain.' She sighed. It was lonely being the world's greatest sorcery genius.

*****

Val pulled his pillow over his head. Gourry Junior snored like Grabos and Jiras combined. 'Grabos. Jiras.' His thoughts paused there (mostly for dramatic effect). 'Mom' He wasn't surprised when tears started soaking the pillow. 

*****

Somewhere in the world, somewhere in the dark, a gold dragon sneezed as she heard a voice call her name. It might've been her memory, it might've been her future, but most likely, it was just the writer being over-dramatic. 

*****

Sylphiel snuggled up to Gourry as he stood on the porch. "What are you thinking about, Gourry-sama?" 

"That kid. He looked familiar. Is he one of Martina and Zangulus'?" 

"No, Gourry-sama. He's Filia's son, Valteira." 

"Oh." He looked up at the stars. "Who's that?" 


	4. No Surprise! Tummy-sama Takes Charge

Slayers Retry Part 4-No Surprise! Tummy-sama Takes Charge!

***********

"I smell food." 

Val looked up. They'd been traveling for days. Their supplies and most of their money had given out, and both bottomless pits (I mean stomachs) were growling. Like demented lions. Grr. 

Lina stepped forward. "I'm following the scent." Val entertained himself as they walked by picturing her as a bloodhound on the trail. 

They walked for quite sometime. The tantalizing scent of food was always there, and slowly (so slowly) getting stronger, but was always just out of their reach. 

"Maybe our noses are smelling things," Val suggested. 

"Of course they are! That's how we know something's there." 

"I mean, maybe our noses just think they smell something delicious. Maybe they're lying to us." Lina glared over her shoulder at him. 

"My nose would never lie to me about food!" she snapped. "The consequences would be too great! My poor tummy would be angry!" 

"And we all know we mustn't anger Tummy-sama," Val replied sarcastically. 

"Right!" Lina hadn't caught the sarcasm. Good thing for Val.

*****

"Look! I was right!" Lina pointed triumphantly at the small inn up the road. The smell of their future dinner was stronger. "Dinner, here we come!"

******

"Lina! I challenge you!" 

Lina looked around, expecting to see some obnoxious young mage intent on earning a name for himself by defeating her. She and Valteira had just sat down to dinner, and were ready to order (everything on the menu, in at least double portions, mostly triples). They were the only ones there, however. 

"Was that you, Val?" she asked him. 

"Yes. I challenge you." 

"Are you crazy? You don't know magic!" 

"Not a magic challenge. An eating challenge!" She raised her eyebrows. So. The boy wanted to playShe smiled cruelly. 

"Are you sure?" He nodded. "Very well. Shall we begin? WAITOR!" 

*****

A crowd assembled to watch the gruesome sight. Noone had ever seen two people consume so much food in one sitting. Val and Lina were tied all the way through dinner. Eventually they started to slow down. 

'Maybe I was wrong,' Val thought as his stomach approached capacity. 'Maybe she CAN beat me in this.' He was thinking of the day, now months past, when she had shown up at the pottery shop and claimed that he couldn't compare to her. 

He sopped up some gravy with a slice of bread. Lina chewed. She looked just about done. 

"Well," he started. "We're tied. Should we call it a draw?" 

"If you want." 

"I'm going to take a bath." 

"Don't take too long." He nodded and stood up. As he started up the stairs, he heard Lina speak. 

"Hey, waiter. Could I havea cake?" 

Val tripped. 

"Aa whole cake, miss?" 

"Mmmmwhy not?" 

Val slid down the stairs. 

"Don't mess with Tummy-sama, kid," Lina told him seriously. And winked.

*******

Lina sat on a chair in her room, reading an old, beat-up book. It was dry reading, but it had some lovely information on shamanist spells. Val was still in the bath. He was the cleanest kid she'd met, constantly bathing or preening his wings, but Lina really wanted to get in the bath herself 

There was a knock at her door. "Hai, hai. I'm coming," she called. It was the innkeeper. 

"A letter arrived for you, Miss. The messenger said it was very important, or I would have waited until morning." 

"Hey Lina," Val called, appearing from the bath-room in his pajama bottoms. With his huge, black, feathery wings showing. "Would you do me a huge favor and scratch between my wingsOops" He stopped and blinked. The innkeeper blinked back. He put the letter in Lina's hands, turned, and left, very calmly. 

"'Oops'?" Lina said acidly. Val blushed from wing-tip to the roots of his hair. 

"I had a really bad itch." 

She slapped her forehead. 

*****

Outside the room, the innkeeper leaned against the wall. "Wings? I should've known they weren't human from the way they ate" 

**********

Special thanks to Sophie, for the original Tummy-sama.


	5. Sigh. The Crown-princess Bride-to-be.

Slayers Retry Part 5- Sigh. The Crown-Princess Bride-to-be

**********

"What does it say?" Val asked, now fully-dressed in dark blue pajamas (with a white 'V' embroidered on the breast pocket; a gift from Filia). 

"It's from Amelia," Lina told him, letter in hand. "She says I should go to Saillune as soon as I get this and it's dreadfully important." Lina shook her head. "But that's it. No 'why' or 'what'. I'm just supposed to come" She sighed. "It's probably a demon or something, knowing Saillune." 

"I thought Saillune was protected by White Magic." 

"It is. So lesser demons and Mazoku are naturally attracted to the place, like a kid who's been told NOT to go somewhere, just because they're not allowed in." She smiled. "Really, Mazoku are the naughty children of the spiritual world." 

"I'm sure they'd just LOVE to hear themselves described like that." 

"Xelloss would get a kick out of it. He thinks EVERYTHING is funny. Why?" 

Val closed one eye and waggled a finger at her. 

"Don't you dare say it!" He didn't. . . . 

*****

The pair was met at the gates of Saillune by Prince Philionel himself. 

"LINA!" the huge man exclaimed. 

"Phil," Lina tried to exclaim, but couldn't muster up the enthusiasm. He bear-hugged her. She desperately tried to breathe. 

"Lina, you made it!" 

"Yes, I did. What's so important?" 

"Oh, I'll let Amelia tell you herself." He laughed ridiculously, and nudged Lina. "So who's your new beau?" 

"'Beau'? Doesn't that meanboyfriend?" She mulled it over for a second. Val squirmed. "It does! It's nothing like that, Phil! Valteira here is just traveling with me." She curled her hand into a fist. "And if you suggest something like that again-" 

"Lina-san!" Amelia came barreling into her. "Oh, I'm so glad you made it!" She smiled wider than Val thought humanly possible. The two women gushed and complimented each other. Phil gazed at Amelia with a father's pride etched plainly on his face (actually, it was floating around him in one of those bubbly screens). Val clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his feet, waiting for them to get over it. He hated greetings almost as much as he hated good-byes. Lina and Amelia were being sofeminine. It was making Val nauseous. 

Amelia finally turned to him. "Valteira-san! You've gotten so big!" Val sweatdropped. He was getting really sick of hearing that. "I remember when you were just a little egg! Oh, Lina, remember-" Lina elbowed her to shut her up. 

Val wondered about this. What did they know that Lina didn't want him to find out about? 

"Well, I'm glad you came Lina-san," Amelia said, rubbing her side where Lina's pointy elbow had hit her. "I have big news!" 

"Ame-chan, is that your sweet voice I hear?" A (rather feminine) man dressed in very rich clothes appeared. His hair was sandy-blonde, with bangs swept over one eye and sticking out to the side. He looked like a prince. 

"'Ame-chan'?" Lina asked. "Amelia, what is going?" 

Amelia grinned. "Lina-san, I'm getting married!" 


	6. Why? The groom isn't Zel?!

Slayers Retry Part 6-Why? The Groom Isn't Zel?!

**********

"Lina-san, I'm getting married!" Amelia took the hand of the man with the funny bangs. "This is my fiancé, Daril Benn Daril Korith." 

"Greetings," he said, his voice honey-smooth. "Are you friends of Amelia's?" 

"Daril-san, this is Lina-san and Valteira-san." 

"Oh, I finally get to meet Amelia's Lina-san!" He grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously. "I'm so honored to meet the world-famous Lina Inverse!" 

"'Amelia'sLina-san'?" Lina just stared blankly. "'Fiancé'?" 

"Congratulations, Amelia, Daril," Val said. Amelia hugged him. She was very giddy. 

"You mean, that note you sent, which led me to believe there were Mazoku running amok again, was really so you could get me here so you could tell me in person that you're getting married?" Lina's voice had risen several octaves. She sounded like she was about to fireball someone. Val took a few steps away from Amelia. 

"Ame-chan," Daril spoke up. "That wasn't very just." 

"But you don't know how hard it is to get Lina-san to visit!" Amelia whined, her eyes getting very large and shiny, ready to start crying. 

"All I know is I'd better get a good meal out of this," Lina announced. 

*****

Later, Amelia sat talking with Lina. Lina was snacking on some cookies from dessert after the huge dinner the castle staff had prepared. 

"So," she said to the princess, who fiddled with her skirts. "Have you heard from Zel lately?" 

"Zelgadis-san? No. Notnot for a very long time." She shook her head. "He left on another quest to find a cure a few years ago. I received a letter about a year after, but nothing since." She looked like she was about to cry. 

"Amelia, I'm sure Zel's fine!" Lina said quickly. She had no desire to see Amelia bawling. "Until he does find a cure, nothing can hurt him." 

"Butbut, after!" 

"He's old enough and experienced enough to take care of himself. He's fine. He's somewhere where there aren't pens, and paperor took a vow of silence until he's finished his spiritual training or something." She'd thought about him, but never got too worried. 

Amelia twiddled her thumbs. "I know. I just can't help it I miss all of you when you're gone. Remember how close we were back then?" Lina nodded. They'd been some groupWhat was she thinking? She sounded like an old lady! 

"Sowhat's up with Mr. Daril there?" she said to change the subject. 

"Daril-san?" Amelia brightened. "I met him two years ago. I was out riding and was attacked by a troll. He saved me." 

"Amelia, you can handle a troll." 

"I know, Lina-san." She grinned and giggled. "But it's the thought that counts. Daril-san is a Champion of Justice, just like Daddy always hoped I'd meet." Lina sighed at the unwelcome image of the trio of Justice. "He's very sweet, and obviously cares about Justice and Peace." 

"And you too. I mean, c'mon. 'Ame-chan'? What are you, his 'little rain-drop'?" Amelia blushed. 'I guess so,' thought Lina. 

* * *

Note-"Ame" is "rain" in Japanese. Therefore, "Ame-chan" amounts to "little rain" or, more poetically, "little rain-drop"


	7. Confessions! And TWO Darils?

Slayers Retry Part 5

Slayers Retry 7- Confessions! And TWO Darils?!

Amelia's eyes brightened. "Anyways," she started. "We're getting married next June. Please say you'll make it, Lina-san!" 

Lina sniffed at the thought. "I made it to Gourry's wedding, didn't I?" she said to assure her. 

"Uh, Lina-san you were almost late because you couldn't tie your corset." 

"Well, I never wear the thing. How should I know how it works?!" 

"You punched Gourry for saying you looked nice." 

"NOOOO! He said I looked like I almost had breasts!" 

"You fireballed the priest." 

"That was an accident. I was aiming for Xelloss." 

"You throttled him!" 

"He deserved it!" 

"I could go on" 

"No need." Lina sat back. "That was some time, ne? I-" A flicker of movement in the courtyard below caught her eye. She prepped a fireball. 

Amelia squealed when she looked out the window. "Zelgadis-san!" She leaped up and ran down the stairs. She tripped on the last step, but recovered before she fell on her face. Lina was amazed. It seemed like she and Zel were the only ones who hadn't changed 

In the courtyard, a chimera stood watching them. 

"Lina. Amelia. It's been a while," was all he said. 

"'A while'? Zelgadis-san, it's been AGES! We've been so worried." Amelia suppressed the urge to hug him. 

"Another dud, huh?" Lina asked, referring to his latest quest. He seemed surprised that she knew, but smiled at her. 

"Yeah." He shrugged, trying to hide the pain that both women saw in his eyes. 

"Well," Amelia said. "Don't just stand out here! Come in, come in!" The princess took his arm and led him into the castle. Lina grinned as he rolled his eyes. 

"I came because I got your letter, Amelia," he said. Amelia blushed. "I just wanted to say Congratulations." 

"Th-thank you." Her hands twitched at her skirts as she looked at her feet. 

Lina felt very out of place. 'Maybe I should leave these two to talk,' she thought. 

"Valteira-san is here, too," Amelia told Zel after a moment. 

"Valgarv?" 

"You know he's not the same person, Zelgadis-san" 

"He doesn't remember a thing," Lina put in. "And both Filia and I think that's good. No one is to tell him about his past except Filia. Got it?" She glared at Zel. "Not even on accident." This to Amelia. 

"Why don't you go see him, Zelgadis-san," Amelia suggested. 

Zel shrugged and followed Lina as she started down the hall. Amelia watched them go, and turned towards her own room. 

"She really missed you," Lina said, breaking the silence as they walked. "You should come around more often." 

"So should you." 

She scowled, and then laughed. "Point taken!" They took a few steps without speaking. "She's not really over you," Lina said softly. 

"I know." 

"She wants to be. She really likes Daril. They have a lot in common." 

"I'm glad." Zel glanced over at Lina. "So she'll be happy?" 

"Yeah, I think so." She paused, walked a little slower. "She's not the only one who missed you." 

"So Gourry finally remembered my name?" Zel grinned. 

"No, you idiot! I missed you. It's strange traveling by myself after I was with you guys for so long." She stopped. "Here we are. Val!" She knocked loudly. "Val, it's me! Open up!" There were the sounds of feet shuffling on the floor. The door opened. 

"Lina, I was just getting ready for bed" Val was wearing his PJs and holding a toothbrush in one hand. 

"You remember Zelgadis, don't you?" Lina interrupted him, gesturing to Zel. Val nodded. 

"Hello, Zelgadis-san." 

"Valga-oof!" Lina's sharp little elbow dug into Zel's side. She winced. It hurt, elbowing a one-third golem. "Valteira," Zel amended. "It's been quite some time. You've gotten big haven't you?" 

"ARGH!!! Why does everyone keep saying that to me?!" 

Everyone blinked at Val's outburst. His face was scrunched up in a very unattractive fit of pique, and getting redder by the second.

"If one more person"

"He really doesn't like that, I guess," Lina shrugged.

"says 'Oh, Valteira, you've grown up!'"

"Obviously," Zel said nonchalantly.

"or 'Val, you've gotten so big!'"

Of course, Zel's almost always nonchalant.

"I'LL SCREAM!"

"Ano Val-chan," Lina interrupted. "You ARE screaming."

"'Val-CHAN!?'" The young dragon plopped onto a couch. "I've got a headache."

Amelia burst into the room, closely followed by Daril. "Valteira-san!" She looked around, ready to smite evil and smash injustice. "What was that screaming?"

"Val's having a hissy fit," Lina informed her.

"Everyone treats me like a kid," he whined. He held his head in his hands.

"You ARE a kid," Lina snapped.

Zel stepped forward to Daril. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Zelgadis." He reached for the other man's hand. "You must be Daril."

The other man looked surprised. Zel flinched. His face was uncovered and his hood was down, showing his chimeric form in all its glory. My face repulses him, Zel thought. I'm a monster.

Daril grinned and took Zel's hand. "Hello, Zelgadis. I am indeed Daril." His smile gave Lina shivers.

Something's wrong

"Amelia," a voice called from the hallway. "Ah, there you are!" Daril entered the room

"Wait a minute!" she cried. "Two Darils?!" She pointed at them both. 

Val blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure his headache wasn't bringing on the hallucination. "One of you is Daril, but the other is Daril too? Or Daril Two?" 

Zel groaned.

"No," Lina cut him off. "One is Daril and the other is Kopii Daril!" 

Zel sweatdropped.

"You're not two parts of Daril-nigdo, are you?" Amelia said timidly. "Because I don't want to have to destroy you" 

Zel's sweatdrop grew. Val rubbed his temples.

"You morons!" the Daril that had accompanied Amelia shouted. "I'm Daril's brother! Leri!" Lina and Amelia looked them both over. They looked pretty much the same, but Leri's hair was shorter, only to his shoulders. His eyes were narrower, his clothes weren't as princely, and most importantly, he wasn't fawning over Amelia.

"Sorry, Leri," Amelia said sheepishly. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"Yes," Leri snapped. "That's the third time something like this has happened this week! I knew I should've dyed my hair or something," he grumbled.

"Um, hello Lina, Valteira, strange, scary-looking guy I don't know," Daril began.

"Zelgadis. My name is Zelgadis."

"Okay. Lina, Valteira, Mister Zelgadis sir, this is my older brother, Daril Benn Leri Korith. We don't talk about him much," Daril whispered. "He's a little- you know- crazy."

"I heard that Daril!" Leri began sniffling. "Just because I'm not some Justice-loving FREAK, my family's all embarrassed of me." Tears dribbled, and then poured down his cheeks.

"You sound like Gracia," Amelia said slowly.

"There there," Zel said awkwardly, patting the bawling brother on the back. "There there."

[back][1]/[next][2]

   [1]: http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/taski/slayers/fics/retry06.html
   [2]: http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/taski/slayers/fics/retry08.html



	8. The Trickster Priest Returns

Slayers Retry Part 8- The Trickster Priest Returns

by Elise  
eigwayne@cs.com  
If you must read a disclaimer, I put one on chapter 1. I HATE writing the things all the time.  
Anyways, sorry about the long lapse of time between updates. Between FFnet being down on and off and my own inherent laziness... But I will continue.

**********

"Yare yare! All we need is Gourry and the old gang's all here!" an oh-so-familiar voice said from behind them all.

"Xelloss, what a surprise," Lina said sarcastically. Zel fumed. Leri rubbed his eyes to stop crying, and Daril looked confused.

"Xelloss-san!" Val exclaimed. He winced as the exclamation aggravated his headache.

"You're actually happy to see him?" Zelgadis cocked an eyebrow (ridge, stone, whatever it is.)

"Now, now, Zelgadis." The priest waggled his finger. "Val-chan and I go way back! I visit him all the time."

Valteira nodded. "Although Mom throws pots at you whenever you show up. She really doesn't like you, Xelloss-san."

"Oh, she stopped throwing the merchandise years ago. Now she just hits me with that mace of hers." Xelloss smiled- not hard, seeing as he always smiles.

Lina looked at Zel. He shrugged. Those two would never change

"Your mother says hello," Xelloss told Val. "And hopes you're eating enough. And washing your clothes regularly. And-"

"I get the point!" Val interrupted. "Sometimes I think you ENJOY embarrassing me."

"Oh, I live for it!"

"What do you want, Xelloss?" Lina cut them off.

"Just visiting. Do I have to have an ulterior motive?" He continued before anyone could answer. "Anyways, when I read Amelia's letter, I figured you'd end up here eventually."

"But I didn't send you a letter," Amelia blurted out. She covered her mouth with her hands as if to keep anything else from slipping out when she realized that she may have insulted the Mazoku.

"I read Filia's," Xelloss smiled. "She kept elbowing me, though."

"You know she hates it when you read over her shoulder!" Val sighed.

"Well," Amelia started, "since we're all here and probably won't be going to sleep anytime soon anyways with all the catching up we have to do Let's have a party!"

"Great!" Lina exclaimed, stabbing at the sky (ceiling, rather) with one finger. "We can raid the Royal Pantry for snacks!"

Amelia's face fell. "Of course Raid the pantry He he. Ugh."

*****

Later, as they sat around in Val's room, Lina regaled them with the story of how she, Gourry, and Zelgadis (but mostly her) had defeated a piece of Ruby-Eye Shaburanigdo. Zel interrupted a couple of times to correct her more flagrant embellishments, but once she got going, Lina proved to be an adept storyteller. This surprised Zel and Amelia- they'd only seen her lecturing Gourry, who never understood anyway. Now that she had an audience with enough mental capacity to comprehend her, Lina was really shining.

Daril sat next to Amelia on the couch. With Lina and Zel in the chairs, that left everyone else camped out on the floor. Xel sat between Val and Leri, being strangely quiet. Zel kept an eye on him. Quiet Xelloss normally meant something bad was going to happen soon. But it could have been the story. Shabranigdo was his boss's boss, after all.

Xelloss wasn't that particular about his reasons. He was quiet because Lina would boot him from the balcony if he interrupted. Zel was lucky she hadn't rounded on him yet. So he just listened, and occassionally poked Valteira, who kept drifting off to sleep. It was past his normal bedtime.

Leri listened in complete awe, even forgetting to glare at his brother. As a mage, he was enraptured with Lina and her story, although as besotted as he was, Leri would never beat his brother in trance-like admiring. Daril was too busy admiring his fiancee to pay attention to the lady-mage. His face was completely blank, his whole heart and soul being poured into his admiration of Amelia's perfection. Zelgadis had to look away immediately every time he glanced in that direction. The raw emotion was embarrassing to behold, the way his face became devoid of thought was just plain stupid. Valteira had dismissed Daril as a moron long before. Zel was about to agree.

Lina finished her story, absently fingering a lock of flame-colored hair as she remembered how white it'd been. Exhaustion was NOT fun. Although victory was normally very nice.

"I've told my story," she said. "Now it's someone else's turn!" She chewed on her lip as she tried to pick someone. "Daril!" she cried, startling him out of his smitten reverie. "Tell us how you and Amelia met!" 

Daril blushed and muttered something. 

"Lina!" Amelia snapped. "You're embarrassing him!" She patted his hand, which he clasped gratefully. She spared a glance at Zel, who blushed himself and quickly suppressed it. He had nothing to blush about, he told himself.

"No no," Daril insisted, confidence returning. "It's all right, if YOU don't mind, Amelia." She nodded, her face reddening. His grinned and squeezed her hand.

"It began when I was out riding...."


	9. Meetings. Trolls, Swords, and an Explosi...

Slayers Retry Part 9- Meetings. Trolls, Swords, and an Explosion.

*********

Daril hummed to himself as his horse, Whitestar, picked his way through the underbrush. The white stallion didn't like forests. He wanted to run over a nice flat plain, feel the earth pounding beneath his hooves and the wind in his mane. Daril was inclined to agree. 

They'd originally been part of a fox-hunt, but Daril's stomach turned at the thought of thirty horses and a huge pack of baying hounds ripping a defenseless little fox to shreds. So after a short speech (about a half-hour long- he was very proud of how succinct his Justice speeches were getting), he had abandoned the cruel hunters for a jaunt back to his family's manor. He wondered vaguely why Mother had insisted he come to the capital again.

Ah, yes. To present himself to the Crown Prince, get some recognition at court, and bag a wife. His mother had been much more elegant about it, but that's what it boiled down to.

"I want to see you bouncing babies on your knee before I pass on," she had said dramatically. "That way, when I join your father in heaven, I'll know that the family line is secure, and my sons are happy."

"Dear, I'm right here!" his father had snapped from behind her. His wife had been an actress for a while before they had married, and her "flair for the dramatic" overcame truth more often than not. It was simply not Just when she did things like that to him, he thought.

So Leri and Daril had gone to the capital to schmooze. Which meant that Leri was at the nearest Mage Academy and Daril was out riding and going over his soon-to-be-written treatise on the nature of Good.

("It's going to be my senior thesis for law school," Daril announced proudly to his fiancee's friends.)

Daril's reverie was broken by a high-pitched scream. "Wha-?!" Whitestar pawed the ground and tossed his head in the direction it had come from. "Right! Follow that sound!" Daril commanded, and the warhorse leaped off the trail towards the sounds of a scuffle.

Daril saw the backs of three trolls as he raced towards them. They turned, hearing the crashing of the horse through the underbrush, but too late. Whitestar leaped over a brush and rammed into one troll with his shoulder as Daril drew his sword. Before Whitestar whirled back, Daril saw the trolls' quarry. A young girl was rising to her feet, her dress torn, her dark hair in disarray and her face smudged. But instead of being cowed by the beasts that had accosted her, she raised her head in defiance.

("That's you, beloved," Daril said to Amelia, even prouder of her than of his thesis. Amelia blushed.)

"Flare Arrow!" she cried, and fire streaked from her hands, causing one troll to burst into flame.

Daril slashed at the trolls even though his blade did not really affect them. Only fire could defeat a troll due to their regenerative powers. It was, Daril decided quickly, quite an unfair advantage.

"Enough play, beasts!" he announced as he reined in his warhorse. Whitestar gave the nearest troll a kick with his foreleg before striking a pose. Daril pointed his blade to the sky. "Your stench of Evil has permeated these woods too long. Today, I shall burn it away with the flames of Goodness! For endangering maidens, and causing them to muss their hair, you shall not go unpunished! For I will rain fire upon you and smite your stinking hides with the Blade of Justice!"

("He really said that," Amelia interrupted. "It was very stirring.")

With those words, Daril's formally normal sword became limned with flames, and each cut of the blade carried the weight of fire as well as steel as he and Whitestar wreaked havoc upon the trolls.

*****

Amelia threw what spells she dared, but the chance of hitting the stranger on the white horse was too great. Having learned from Lina while on the road with her, Amelia knew when to play the princess, so to speak. She backed away from the fight, and tossed just enough Flare Arrows to keep the trolls off balance until the swordsman could finish them. Soon, the three trolls were running for their lives. The horse snorted and seemed to smile smugly.

The stranger turned towards her. "Are you alright, my Lady? If you've come to any harm, I'll gladly chase those beasts down for you..."

"No, no," Amelia said quickly. "I'm fine. I'm just a little mussed is all. And my horse ran off."

"Probably smart of it. I think trolls eat horses." The warsteed snorted again, this time in disdain. The man swung down from his saddle easily and bowed deeply. "Daril Benn Daril Korith, my Lady. Please forgive me for not introducing myself sooner."

"Don't be silly! You can't introduce yourself in battle." She paused. "Unless you're also introducing yourself to your enemies."

"True enough, my Lady. Would you favor me with your name?" He asked this hesitantly, as if afraid to insult her.

"Amelia," she replied happily, sticking out her hand for him to shake. "Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune."

"The Princess? I'm honored." His eyes were wide, but he remembered the manners his mother pounded into his head. He took her hand gently, and bowing low, brushed his lips against the back. Amelia blushed furiously.

("That's so romantic," Lina gushed. "Noone ever kissed my hand!" She looked pointedly at her companions. Val had the good grace to blush in embarassment, but Zel merely ignored her. Xelloss decided that now was not the time. She looked particularly dangerous.)

"Please, your Highness, take my horse and I'll escort you back to castle, if you wish." She paused to think.

"Thank you. That's very nice of you!"

Before she could say another word, Daril bent to help her into the saddle. Whitestar rolled his eyes, but stood still for her. Amelia felt very akward, being helped up and riding while Daril walked, and was about to say something when Daril asked, "If I may be so bold, Highness, what were you doing out riding on your own?"

"Just that!" she laughed. "Out riding. I like to get out every once in a while."

"I think everyone does! Whitestar and I were out, too. We ditched a fox hunt and were wandering when we heard you."

"I was startled. Those trolls came out of nowhere and scared my poor horse. I... fell off." She toyed with the reins, embarassed. Real horse-women didn't fall off.

"You're not hurt?"

"No. I said I was fine."

"I apologize, your Highness."

Amelia chewed her lip. She didn't like being "Highness"ed all the time. "I'm sorry too," she told him. "That I snapped at you, that is."

"That's alright. My brother snaps at me all the time. Of course, I just ignore him. I can't ignore you." Now he blushed. She was very pretty, but way out of his league. He was a minor noble from the country, while she was the Crown Prince's daughter.

They rode the rest of the way in silence.

******

"You can't end it there!" Lina protested.

"All that happened was that Daddy heard the story, we had a huge banquet in celebration, and eventually we got engaged," Amelia explained.

"That's sorely lacking in detail," Lina whined at her. "How did you know you wanted to marry him?"

"He's a good dancer? I don't know," Amelia flushed.

"I knew since the moment I laid eye on Ame-chan that she was the one I wanted to be with," Daril insisted. "Even though I thought our stations would keep us apart, Amelia and Philionel's huge hearts reached out to me, and accepted me as one of their own."

"That's so sweet..."

"I can't believe he's for real," Zel muttered to himself.


	10. New Journey! Xellos Tells a Story

Slayers Retry Part 10- New Journey! Xelloss Tells a Story.

********

"Ooh! My turn!" Xelloss squealed.

"NO!" Lina, Amelia, and Zelgadis shouted as one.

"But I have a really good one! About a treasure hidden deep in the mountains..."

"Treasure?" Lina perked up.

"And a brave group of heroes..."

"Heroes?" That got Daril's attention.

"Who fought against all sorts of Evil..."

"Fighting against Evil?" Amelia said, rather wistfully.

"And died horribly right before they reached their goal!"

The group collectively hit the floor and sweatdropped.

"Xelloss, that's terrible!"

"You ruined it!"

"But that's the way it really happened!" Xel whined. "Do you want me to lie about the ending?"

Lina looked thoughtful. "And was the part about the treasure true, too?"

"Of course! Would I lead you astray?"

"YES!"

Xel had the good grace to look ashamed of himself..

"So, what kind of treasure?"

"Oh, diamonds the size of your fist, coins minted before the Kouma War... the usual. Except..."

"Except!" Lina's eyes were huge and shiny, in that greedy Lina way. Zelgadis groaned.

"There's supposed to be powerful magic items there, too."

"I suppose there's a copy of the Clair Bible," Zel said sarcastically.

"Of course! What self-respecting treasure horde doesn't have a copy of the Clair Bible?" Xelloss grinned at him. "But that's not what I meant."

"Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!?!" Lina demanded.

"Let's see..." Xelloss started ticking things off on his fingers. "A wand of fire, a staff of the archmagi, probably a whole slew of rings, and no less than three magic swords! And that's all that's been catalogued. Everyone who's been there has been chased out or killed before they could do a complete inventory."

"Why don't I trust you?" Zelgadis hissed.

"You never trust me!" Xelloss said cheerfully.

"Staff of the archmagi.....," Lina drooled. "I know I shouldn't trust you, Xelloss, but..." She fidgetted, wrung her hands, paced, and was on the verge on tearing her hair when she finally gave in. "I want that staff! Xelloss!" She turned on him so fast he thought she was about to fireball him. Val hopped backwards, not wanting to be decapitated by her flying hair.

"Where is it, Xelloss!?" Lina demanded. "I'll take your bait! Bring me to the staff!"

Xelloss leaned heavily on his own staff, relieved that she wasn't going to blow him up. "It's deep in the mountains..."

"Of course," Zelgadis mumbled.

"... and guarded by all sorts of nasty creatures..."

"Oh!" Amelia exclaimed. "I didn't know you had relatives, Mister Xelloss!"

Everyone turned to her. A line that should have been delivered from Zel or Lina, dripping with acid wit and/or sarcasm, had just been said in complete innocence by sweet little Amelia.

"What?" the princess blinked.

"The world is coming to an end," Lina announced. "Amelia just said something sarcastic."

"I did?"

"She's growing up!" Xelloss said in a wavering voice. He clasped his hands together, his eyes watering dramatically. "Our little girl is becoming an adult! Oh, Lina!" He glommed onto her and bawled.

Lina squealed and tried to push him away. "Get off! Amelia is NOT our little girl! There will never BE an OUR little girl! Off! OffoffoffoffoffOFF!!!!"

Zelgadis looked thoughtful. In one hand, he held a crowbar- good for prying things off. In the other, he held a small fireball- good for blowing things up. Which to use...

He tossed the useless crowbar behind him (just barely missing Leri's head). Xelloss and Lina "eep"ed in unison as they saw the chimera winding up for the pitch.

The fireball hit Xelloss full force, and sent the Mazoku flying out the window. Unfortunately, he was still attached to Lina.

"Miss Lina!"

"Lina!"

"AGH!"

"Oops." Zelgadis ran to the window and grabbed Lina's wrist with unearthly speed.

"Idiot!" she graciously thanked him. Then she began kicking at Xelloss, who was holding onto her leg. "Let go!"

"I'll fall!"

"GOOD!" Lina and Zel answered him.

Xelloss pouted a bit. "Fine." And he let go.

And floated up to the window to watch Zel pull Lina into the room with an amazing amount of cursing. Zel held onto her until she regained her balance. Which meant that they were very close for a few seconds.

"Zel," Lina started quietly.

"Yes?"

"Let go of me, you idiot!" she yelled and yanked her wrists from his grasp, her face only slightly red. Zel flushed, but quickly regained his compossure. The rest of the group pretended that they'd been watching the cieling. Even Amelia, who had a small, strange smile on her face.

That was so cute! she thought. It never occurred to her to think otherwise.

Xelloss floated back in the window and landed gracefully. "My, wasn't that fun!" Lina and Zel scowled.

"Whatever you say," Lina snapped. "I just want to know where that treasure is!"

"Wow," Valteira mused, quietly, so she wouldn't hear. "She sure has a one-track mind..."

"That's not very nice!" Daril scolded in a whisper.

"True, though," Amelia added.

"Ah!" Xelloss was saying. "So you'll go?! Great!"

"Why are you so happy, Xelloss?" Lina asked, suddenly suspicious. A genkier-than-usual Xellos meant trouble. "What's in this for you?"

"Half the profits of the venture."

"Half?! No way! Maybe after I take my half, you can split what's left with Val, but no way are you getting half the profits! Besides, what do you care about money?! You don't need money! I do! Lots and lots of it! So spill it, Mr. Mysterious Priest, or I'll shake it out of you!"

Xelloss gulped. Getting shaken to death was NOT part of his plan.

Valteira sighed. "I wonder when she'll want to leave. I hope I get to sleep first..."

******

Notes: Hee-hee! Sorry about that window scene. I've been reading lots of Zel/Lina fics, and it just... snuck in there.

Poor Val had like no part in this chapter. And I thought this was HIS fic! Hehe, you'll see.


	11. Lost! Never Listen to a Mazoku

Slayers Retry Part 11- Lost! Never Listen to a Mazoku.

*********

Lina and Val departed the next day, bidding Amelia and Prince Phil a fond farewell.

"Remember, I'll be sending you a message when we set the date," Amelia told Lina. "And one will go to Filia, of course, so you and Valteira can stop there anytime before spring to check, too!"

"For the last time, Amelia, I will not miss your wedding!"

"Thanks for letting us stay, Phil."

"No problem, Val! Anytime! Maybe next time, we'll be able to join you!"

Val sweatdropped. "No, we understand that you can't make it. Being a Prince is tough, huh?" Phil nodded.

"Have you seen Zel?" Lina asked.

"Not this morning," Daril answered.

"He left already!" Amelia cried. "He comes in the middle of the night, and leaves before morning! He didn't even rest!"

"Maybe those wanted posters are still up and he was afraid of being arrested. We should check. You know, make sure they're all down." Phil scratched his chin. "I could've sworn I had them all taken down though..."

"I've been waiting," Zel's voice called and he stepped into view. "You take forever to get going in the morning, Lina."

"Oh, quiet! Because I can fireball you just as easily as you can fireball me!" She glared at him. He had the good grace to flush.

Xelloss just watched the whole thing, smiling.

******

"Let's see... a left at the manticore cave...." Lina stood, poring over the map Xelloss had given them before he'd split. Zel and Val sat in the shadow of a large, snowy boulder, panting heavily. Said manticore was vanquished, thanks to their efforts. Lina hadn't even had to look up from her map- although both men were exhausted and knew they'd have to stay here to rest for the night- which was fast approaching.

"Lina," Val called. "Why don't you chill for a minute? We've got to set up camp for the night."

"What? Oh. Good idea, Val. You and Zel can do that while I figure out this map."

"But Lina..."

"Don't argue with her," Zelgadis stopped him, remembering her Fireballs and Flare Arrows. Hell, even her flaring aura was enough to scare most men into submission. And with her temper, she'd fry Val for arguing with her without a second thought. Zelgadis did NOT want to spend the night caring for a crisped dragon-boy.

"Fine. You can start a fire. I'll set up the bed stuff." Valteira started getting their blankets.

Zel paused for a moment, wondering if Val was being practical or rude, assuming that he'd help. But Val was a good-natured boy, and without Lina to help, they had to split the chores. Zel decided not to knock the boy down a few pegs, and went to gather firewood.

Lina snickered behind her map. That trick always worked. Now she could concentrate on the pathetic excuse for a map that Xelloss had drawn. After this cave, they had to go east. Those upside-down V's were mountains. They'd been in the mountains for ages, it seemed like. Eventually they would reach the mountain fortress that held their treasure- HER treasure. Her eyes sparkled. Rings, staff, diamonds... She could finally buy her castle!

But she didn't want the castle anymore. She'd gotten used to the adventuring life, even liked it now. Amelia's royal responsibilities and Sylphiel's marital bliss were not for her. Although she missed everyone. Settling down wasn't her thing, but neither was being alone. She'd gotten so used to having Gourry around...

"Lina?" Valteira's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Yes, Val?"

"Where do you want your blankets?"

"Near you is fine. Being closer means being warmer! And I can smack you easier if you start snoring."

"I do not snore!"

Lina chuckled. He had, actually, all last week when he had gotten a cold and his nose was stuffed up. She hadn't thought that dragons got colds. At least he didn't breathe fire when he sneezed.

"Lina, what were you thinking about, before?"

"What do you mean?," she asked cautiously.

"When you spaced out over the map."

She paused, wondering if she could cover her slip. "Things," she finally sighed.

"What things?"

Damn! He was being nosy. She considered yelling at him- what business was that of his?- but he'd probably take it personally. "Traveling, mostly," she started. "Being alone and then being with everybody else."

"Oh. 'Cause you started looking sad. I was wondering if something was up."

"No, nothing at all!" she stammered. "Just... thinking.... I missed being with people," she admitted. "Traveling alone isn't fun, really. I've been pretty much alone since Gourry and Sylphiel got married."

"Don't worry!" Val said cheerfully. "I'm with you! And Zelgadis will stick around for a bit."

"Yeah. He will, won't he?"

Val smiled. "And I won't leave you on your own. I want to visit home after this, to bring Filia some presents, but I'll stick with you." He looked at her then. "Do you mind?"

"N-no. Not at all." She flushed slightly. He was weirding out on her. Of course, noone had ever asked if they could stay with her. Gourry had decided she needed a guardian. Amelia had wanted to learn magic, at first. Zelgadis saw her as a means to an end, and probably still did. And here was little Val, saying he'd stay with her. ASKING her if she minded.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked. "I've got plenty to make some for all of us, once Zel gets back." Tea? He was Filia's son, alright.

******

Days passed. They were hopelessly lost. Lina was swearing up a storm, promising to do very evil and painful things to Xelloss when he showed up again.

"I bet he did this on purpose! He KNOWS I hate cold! He's soooooo getting Dragon Slaved when he showed his face again."

Val winced. The words "Dragon Slave" brought back the memory of lingering pain to him.

Zelgadis just followed in silence, his hood up. With noone around, this was more to block some of the sound than to hide his ears. He frowned. Xelloss was probably getting a nice meal out of their misery.

Suddenly, the mountains rang with a shrill shriek of rage.

"I'll get you for this, Xelloss!!!!!"


	12. C-C-C-Cold! The Frozen Temple- Again

Slayers Retry Part 13- C-C-C-Cold!!! The Frozen Temple- Again.

********

"Where the hell are we?"

Zel and Lina glanced at each ther before turning back to the wasted landscape Val referred to.

It was overwhelmingly white, the snow here untouched by human- or otherwise- hands. Here and there, an intricate cross of black broke the stark whiteness that covered grooved and pitted ground. Zel and Lina remembered those crosses, and the dragons that had built them.

Or at least stories of them. There was only one of this clan left, and he had been the only one for a thousand years before either of their births.

"Valteira..." Lina started. She stared at the boy's back as he took in the surroundings.

"Damn, that's alot of snow!" he said finally. His companions let out the breath they'd been holding. "Do you think this is the place?"

Zel shrugged. "Who knows?"

"'Cause I get the feeling," Val continued, "that this wasn't always like this. Something more important than snow was here once, I just know it! Imagine, we could be looking at a place where history was made!" He flushed a little. "I'm sorry. You two must think I'm silly, getting excited like this. I mean, you two MAKE history; I've only read a little bit. This is the closest I've been to a big event. Can we..."

"Go down and see it? Sure." Lina grinned at him. "Get your history, dragon-boy."

******

Xelloss kneeled before his master. "The trap is sprung."

"Good," Xelas purred. She was being very cat-like about this whole thing. "Proceed as planned, my dear. Awaken the boy, and crush him."

"Yes, master." Xelloss and Xelas grinned at each other, although only one felt it.

********

Valteira Ul Copt flopped flat on his back. He'd been running around, basking in remnants of a familiar power. He didn't know why it was so familiar to him- he suspected the power just liked dragons though- and the crosses tugged at his memory.

"I must have seen something like them in a book," he announced to Lina and Zel. He'd been keeping them abreast of his revelations by calling out to them even after they'd stopped following him. At the moment, they sat on a small hill, curled up by the fire Lina had made Zel build. She currently looked like she wanted to throw something. Between shivers, anyways.

"That must have been some book," Zel called to the boy.

"Yeah. Too bad I don't remember it!" The men laughed. Lina scowled at them and moved closer to Zel. She'd been right about his stone body picking up heat.

"Are you okay still?" she asked Val.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I'm not col at all. I'm actually overheated from running around!" he chuckled.

"I hate you," Lina grumbled. Zel looked away, whistling innocently. "You too, mister," she snapped at him.

"What about me?" Xelloss asked as he popped in on her other side.

"I hate you most of all," she assured him.

"Hi, Mister Xelloss," Val waved idly, not bothering to get up.

"Hello, Val-chan!" Xelloss grinned and waved back, even though the boy couldn't see him. "He's happy, ne?"

"He says it's familiar here. The magical emanations like him or something," Lina informed him as she yanked a corner of Zel's cloak over her.

"It should be familiar," Xelloss replied, thinking- 'I certainly spent enough time making sure it would.'

"Don't say anything," Lina said suddenly. "You know how I feel about him knowing about... this." She glared at both of them. "I can take you both out if I have to."

"I think I had a dream about this place, or a place like it," Val called to them. "I remember sitting and crying, and seeing one of these crosses." He chuckled again. "Filia probably spanked me for stealing cookies or sharpening my claws on the couch. I can't think of why else I would be crying...."

Zel and Lina glanced at each other.

"He's not..."

"I don't know," Zel said softly. "Noone's ever been reborn like this before."

"He can't remember the way it was!" Lina hissed, trying to keep her voice down. "I like him like THIS!"

"So do I," he assured her. "He's not the same person. He can't remember. He's..." He looked down at the boy, who was making a snow-angel and giggling.

"An idiot?" Xelloss suggested. Zel grumbled at him.

"Having fun," Lina said firmly. The word 'idiot' always reminded her of Gourry, and having Valteira around was nothing like having Gourry around. Val wasn't a jellyfish-brain.

"Look! It's Filia!" Val had drawn a be-ribboned tail on his snow-angel. He grinned at all of them. Lina began rethinking the jellyfish-brain thing.

What was left of Xelloss's heart shriveled up and died inside him.


	13. Oops! The Truth Comes Out

Slayers Retry Part 13- Oops! The Truth Comes Out.

*********

"Is this the place or what?" Val was on the verge of whining at Xelloss, who refused to tell him whether or not they had reached their destination. "Come on!"

"Give it a rest!" Lina finally screeched. She was polishing off the last of the dinner, and had gotten quite sick of the conversation during her meal. Val clammed up immediately.

"Tomorrow," Zelgadis started, "Xelloss will stop this foolishness and take us to where we need to go. For now, we need to get some rest. Go to bed." He promptly rolled over in his blankets. Val pulled his own up to his chin and closed his eyes.

Lina glared at Xelloss once. "Pretend to sleep or something," she snapped. "And don't say a word." She pulled her own bedroll between Val and Zel for warmth. Val looked at her once and went back to sleep, while Zel merely moved over a tiny bit to give her room. She gave Xelloss another look, just in case, and closed her eyes.

*******

She stood on a cliff, watching him emerge from the darkness. She vaguely heard Filia speaking with him, but was too angry to pay attention. How dare he try to destroy her world! And without her permission!

Lina brushed her hair from her eyes, and saw him in the desert, the cocky Mazoku with his own light weapon who had such an easy time harrying her group. She was really sick of Mazoku hating her for no reason. It wasn't like she was the one who'd killed Garv. She'd only been there.

She saw the one who would become Valteira as she had seen him so many years ago- the half-Mazoku, half-Ancient Dragon who had let himself be absorbed by Dark Star. She saw her own Valteira as a child, laughing in Filia's arms. Finally she saw it. Filia's vision of a tiny child, surrounded by his dead kin in the snow, his tiny fist rubbing his crying eyes. She stepped closer to him. She only wanted to comfort him, to smooth his wing feathers and tell him that he'd have a Mommy and...

He looked up at her, his eyes hard and yellow, his adult body lean and scarred. He held out a clawed hand and set her up on a black cross.

His laughter still rang in her ears as she opened her eyes. "Stupid dreams," she muttered, and rolled over. Her back had been very cold, and she wanted it warm. Val had been on that side of her. Val was so much colder than Zel...

Or he might have been, if he'd been there at all.

*****

Lina found him standing next to one of the standing crosses, his hand resting gently against it.

"These are memorials of a dead race, Lina," he informed her. "I had a dream about it. Thousands of Glod Dragons attacked this place, when a temple was standing here. They all looked kinda like Filia, and they were killing these... these other dragons that... that looked like..." He turned to her finally, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Like you," Lina finished. Val nodded.

"I... I was a little kid again. All I could do was watch them die. It was so vivid. This place wants me to know about it, I think. Except, it didn't look like this."

"A temple once stood here," Lina told him. He nodded again. He'd seen it in the dream. "Your people guarded a dangerous weapon here."

"So it was a true dream?"

"It was the past. A thousand years ago- more than- Gold Dragons attacked this temple to gain the weapon. They failed in that, but killed the Ancient Dragons who guarded it. It was... a great tragedy, almost as bad... just as bad as the Kouma War."

Valteira glanced back at the cross. "A thousand years... that's a long time," he laughed. I must have been seeing it through someone else's eyes!"

"Yeah..."

"No!" Xelloss's voice rang. "Tell him, Lina!"

"Xelloss," Lina hissed. "It is not our job. Filia-"

"Filia has no part in this! She is not here. We are. It is our duty to tell him." Xelloss floated down to the boy. He looked at Zelgadis, who approached from Lina's side. "What do you say, Zel?"

All eyes turned on him, Zelgadis sighed, wishing he could just melt into the snow and hide. "You have to tell him now. Look at his face. You can't get away without telling him after bringing it up." He paused. "Originally, I would have told him. But now..."

"He is not Valgarv!" Lina stopped him.

"I hear that name in my dreams, sometimes," Valteira whispered. "Last night... you all called me that name in my dreams. 'Valgarv.' That was my name once."

"But not now!" Lina held his arms. "You're Valteira. Valteira Ul Copt. Filia's son."

"Filia..." Val stared up at the dark sky, watching the stars wink out as the rising sun pinkened the sky.

"She never told me where I came from," he started. "I didn't care. I had her, and Jiras and Grabos and all of you. I sometimes wondered why I was different from Filia, but she would say 'It doesn't matter, now does it? I loved you, I watched you hatch. Does it matter that I didn't really give birth to you?' And we would smile, and Jiras would get all teary-eyed and go 'Valteira-sama...' like he always did. But when we flew...

"When we flew, Filia was all round and golden, and I was black. I would see glimpses of my wings- my FEATHERED wings- and think 'I'm not like her.'

"Lina, who am I? Who was I? Why do you have to hide it from me?" His golden eyes bored into her until she looked away.

"You were-" Zel started. Lina smacked him to stop him.

"You were our enemy when we met," she explained, shaking her newly bruised hand. "When you were Valgarv, you wanted to kill me. After that dream you had, that real dream where your family died, Chaos Dragon Garv took you in. He named you Valgarv and made you half-Mazoku."

"It's against regulations to make mortals Mazoku," Xelloss added. "Another reason we had to get rid of Garv."

"Who's telling the story here?" Lina snapped. "If we have to tell it at all, then leave it to the smartest one. ME." She smoothed her cape. "Anyways, Valgarv was Garv's servant until Hellmaster Phibrizo destroyed the Chaos Dragon. Valgarv thought I did it, and wanted me dead. At the time we met, he was working for Almace, a being from another world who wanted these weapons to banish Dark Star.

"Dark Star had devoured his world and aborbed the god Vorfeid, so Almace came here to collect the lights weapons- weapons made of Dark Star's energy- in order to get rid of him.

"Things went wrong, and Valgarv let himself be absorbed by Dark Star. We all thought he was gone.

"We then concentrated on stopping Dark Star from entering the world- no easy task, with Almace and his buddies loose and messing with things! We ended up here to retrieve the last weapon. The light-bow that your clan died to defend. The temple let us have it, but it showed Filia what had really happened."

"It was her own people," Valteira said softly. "Her own clan that was... they were the killers!"

Lina nodded sadly. "Her own clan had said that the Ancient Dragons were the bad ones, that the Golds had destroyed them to save the world. But it wasn't true. Filia nearly broke when she found out the truth. Her wonderful people were butchers, their enemy peaceful guardians.

"But her clan paid. While we were inside the temple, Almace's former companions- they'd killed him when he tried to stop them, after he realized he was wrong- attacked, and the Golds came to stop them. They were all killed. Only Filia and the Elder were left.

"Filia defied the Elder and renounced her priestess status. Then she flew us to stop Dark Star from entering the world.

"We didn't. Dark Star came and flew all over the place, leaving destruction in his tracks. Until it came here.

"The Valgarv part was strong enough to replicate himself. He told us he wanted to cleanse the world."

"You mean destroy it."

"Yes. As a dragon and a Mazoku, and then as Dark Star, the Demon Lord of Almace's world, Valgarv saw the purpose of the Mazoku clearer than even the Hellmaster. And he would have carried it out.

"Except for us. Somehow, with all our different types of magic- the Dark Star weapons, my Black magic, Filia's power from Ceiphreed, and even Xelloss's power- we destroyed Dark Star." Lina paused there, regarding the boy. His face was troubled, his eyes shadowed.

"I remember Filia crying for Valgarv," she continued slowly. "Or maybe I'm confused. We were all surrounded by black feathers. But as they cleared, we saw a light. And when the feathers were all gone into white, Filia held in her hands a tiny egg. Inside was an perfect black dragon." She reached up and stroked his cheek. "You."

Valteira stared at Lina for a long time. Zelgadis watched them without moving, not even to close his cloak against the cold. Xelloss...

Xelloss waited. He'd waited for the boy to grow up; he could wait a few moments more. His master's plan had begun as soon as she'd learned of his existence. As Garv's minion, as a Ryuuzoku, as one who knew the Mazoku's secrets, he could not be allowed to live after his awakening. But the victory would only be sweet for Xelas if he had been awakened.

It had already soured for Xelloss.


	14. Understanding. One and the Same.

Slayers Retry Part 14- Understanding. One And The Same.

Finally, the plot begins it's upwards climb to climax (not as dirty as it sounds! ^_-)

*********

Dawn came and went, and still Valteira stared at the broken landscape. The sun sparkling off the snow hurt his eyes, but he still stared.

Zelgadis had long ago rebuilt the fire for Lina, and they sat watching, Lina absently gnawing on a chicken leg.

"Dammit, Zel!" she yelled suddenly. She punched the ground. "We should have left this place before this could happen!"

"We couldn't have known. It was completely different when we left, spring-like. Now it's winter again. In more way than one."

"But..." she sighed. "I lost Gourry, but I'll be damned if I lose Valteira. Especially to Valgarv!" She stood up, tearing the last bit of meat from her drumstick before throwing the bone to the ground, and stomped towards the boy.

"Val, look," she started.

"I know, Lina," he cut her off. "I was a real... um... I wasn't very nice when I was the other me. But the point is, HE is still ME. I'm the same person. I know what he was trying to do." He turned to her. His eyes were Valgarv's, cold and hard. "And I almost agree with him."

"Val, no!"

"But almost isn't good enough...." He sighed wearily. "Such a mess.... And all of it my fault." Lina and Zel looked at him and then at each other. Were those... tears... glimmering in the boy's eyes?

"Valteira..." Lina's call became a shriek of fear as a black bolt whizzed by her, slamming into the boy and throwing him backwards. "VAL!!"

"Oh my, I missed," Xelloss murmured as he materialized next to Lina.

"Xelloss! What are you doing?!"

"That... is a-" his shoulders sagged. He didn't really have the heart to say it, no matter how cute Lina and Zel were when they got mad at him. "You know," he finished.

"Xelloss!" Valteira's voice rang as he stumbled to his feet, clutching his side where the bolt had hit. "You came. I knew you would."

"Then you understand what I need to do." Lina caught a twinge in his voice, a bare, split-second pause as if he were choking.

"Not at all!" the young dragon said brightly. "I know. But understand... Never again." His right fist clenched and unclenched slowly. "I know, I know it all... Ryuzoku, Mazoku, Shinzoku, the whole bit, the whole nasty past that created me. Your Master is laughing her ass off at us now." Xelloss shrugged. "You were the only father I ever had, Xelloss, but I know what you have to do. Mazoku are Mazoku, after all." The wind whipped in the tiny valley where the Ancient Dragons' temple had once stood, and as Valteira flexed his hand again, it became the great black dragon's claw. "Does this prove to you that I am the same? Or will this?" At these words, huge black wings sprang from his back. "Does this help, Xelloss?! I am still the same!"

Valgarv once again stood before them.

Xelloss hissed. "Yes. Thank you. I think I can kill you now."

"Come then. Complete this mission."

Lina and Zel watched helplessly as they rushed each other, Xelloss teleporting and Val using his wings. The boy was good, Zel thought... Until he heard Lina's choking sob next to him.

"Stop it. Stop it," she murmured over and over. Three passes now. Neither was wounded yet except for Val's side. His claw squealed as he blocked a blow from Xelloss's staff, the sharp nails raking furrows down it's length. "Zel, stop them!"

When she turned toward him, her eyes were wide and her face contorted with grief. Zelgadis shook his head.

"I can't. Noone can stop them, except them."

"Ze-el...."

Uh-oh. It was That Voice. The one that meant-

He'd known it was coming, but he was helpless to stop it. Zel found himself on the ground, in the strongest chokehold he'd ever encountered. "Lina... stop... you're killing me.... gak!"

"Then do something, Beach-for-Brains!!" She dropped him roughly and stood. "Maybe a Dragon Slave...."

"'Beach-for-Brains'?"

"Rock golem, rocks, pebbles, sand, it's essentially all the same," she told him as she calculated just the right spell to knock both furious combatants unconscious. Zel stood and brushed himself off (more than a little disgruntled at being Lina's punching bag, so to speak) when something caught his eye.

"Lina..."

"Dil- no, Dare Brando. What Zel?"

"Is it me, or has that mountain over there sprouted a Mazoku?"

*****

Author's Notes: Whew! Chapter 14, finally!! It's a bit short, but this is not a long-chaptered fic. Only one more planned chapter to go, although this new plot twist (not in the original plot) may extend it ;_;  
Anyways, I've been inspired (by forcing myself to rewatch TRY) so hopefully it will be done sooooooooooon!  
Fingers crossed,  
Elise


	15. Finally! Zelgadis Takes Care of Things

Slayers Retry Part 15- Finally! Zelgadis Takes Care of Things.

********

"Is it me, or has that mountain over there sprouted a Mazoku?"

Lina spun to look. A shadowy form with gangly limbs and a wolfish snout stood idly on a mountainside, watching Xelloss and Valteira with more than passing interest. He didn't see them, or was ignoring them. Lina was slightly offended that he wasn't cowering in fear of her.

"Looks like the Greater Beast sent back-up," Zelgadis said softly.

"Is Val really that powerful?"

"He's just a dragon. An equal to a Mazoku, probably, but definitely something Xelloss can handle, from what we know of him."

"Then that's not back-up..." Lina glanced at the combatants, trying to follow their lightning movements. The black blur of Val's wings were often all she had to go on. "That's insurance...." Zelgadis nodded. "The Greater Beast doesn't think he'll do it!"

"Yes! The only father Val's ever had... I bet his boss doesn't like that!" Zel laughed mirthlessly.

"But, how do we stop this? Xelloss will be forced to kill Val.... I mean, he may be hesitating, but he's a Mazoku."

"He'll do what his Master orders him too. Ceiphreed knows he's tried to sell US out enough times."

"And once to Valgarv.... Val must know that now. And he knows that he didn't take the offer."

"That merely explains the 'why' of this. Xelloss knows Valteira would never join the Mazoku-"

"Filia raised him better than that!"

Zel raised an eyebrow at her interruption, and glanced at the strange Mazoku. He was still staring at Xel and Val as if nothing else existed. "This isn't a continuation of that fight, though, Lina."

"It's revenge for it, I think. The Greater Beast has a bigger hand in this one. I mean, Valgarv repudiated her offer. And here he is, given a second chance, free of her. She must be really ticked off!"

Zelgadis nodded again, and turned back to the fight with Lina, thinking hard.

***

Xelloss was taking full advantage of his superior teleporting skill now, but he still wasn't using his most devastating attacks. He used his staff, and sometimes the deadly black cones to simply scratch, wearing away at the boy- a tactic Val remembered from their fight when he was Valgarv. He desperately wished he still had that kind of power. It was taking all his strength just to keep up! He batted away a staff-blow with his wing, accepting the pain. 

"Stop playing with me!" he roared in frustration.

***

Lina flinched visibly when she heard this. Zelgadis drew close to her, hesitantly putting an arm around her shoulders.

"What do you think you're doing!?" she yelled, curling her fist.

"I have a plan!" he hissed before she could pummel him into oblivion. He glanced at the oblivious Mazoku before he began whispering to her. She grinned slyly as he spoke, and forgot the arm around her.

***

Val's wings were weighing him down. He broke away from Xelloss and willed them away.

They stood apart from each other, Val's whole body shaking in an effort to breathe, Xelloss leaning heavily on his staff. Neither wanted to continue. But Xelloss knew that Ralfarj was watching, waiting to report the outcome to his master. The final report that said that Xelloss hadn't become weak, hadn't become enamored of this Ryuzoku boy, and had killed him to prove it. The final report that was a big fat lie.

'Mazoku have no hearts,' Xelloss reminded himself. 'You can't love Val-chan. You don't have that ability. Destroy him and get on with your life.

'Oh, Lina, do something!'

***

"Now, Zel! Now!"

***

Xelloss teleported back in, sweeping the boy off his feet. He stood above him, the butt of his staff against his throat. Golden eyes glared up at him.

"I'm sorry, Val," he said, his voice carrying to Lina- and Ralfarj. "But orders are orders." Lina winced as she heard the crunch of the staff crushing his throat. It sounded vaguely like cracking ice.

Xelloss looked up at the wolfish Mazoku, and teleported away. Ralfarj followed immediately, his howling laughter ringing off the mountains.

Lina swallowed roughly and looked for Zelgadis. She saw his pale cloak, barely visible against the snow. He was hunched over something large. She wiped the sweat from her brow as he waved to her.

She could make out Val's green hair from under his cape.

"Blessed Ceiphreed!" Val croaked as she levitated over to them. "What happened?"

"An ice golem!" Lina exclaimed proudly. "My best work yet."

"I was pleasantly surprised," Zel added.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You're terrible at golemcraft," Zel admitted, knowing well what was coming. Lina just kept forgetting that her elbow-drops to his head hurt her more than him.

Rubbing her newly-bruised elbow, Lina leaned over Valteira. As she cast a Recovery- the first of many, with all the bruises and cuts- she explained to him. "I made an ice golem for Xelloss, while Zel whisked you away. Now we can keep you, and Xelloss and the wolf-mazoku can tell their boss that he got rid of you. It should be a while beofre she finds out the truth."

Val chuckled. "She'll be awfully mad at him..."

"We can only hope."

*******

Thanks for sticking with me so far. Stayed tuned for the epilogue!


	16. Epilogue. Coming Home.

Slayers Retry Part 16- Epilogue! Coming Home.

******

Filia was dusting some pots when she heard the door open up front. She trotted out to meet her customer.

"V-valteira!" She ran to the familiar silhouette and threw her arms around her son. She squeezed him until his back cracked and smothered his face in kisses. Then she checked for injuries. "Oh, Valteira, I'm so glad! Wait until Grabos and Jiras hear-"

"Mom, I need to tell you something."

His solemn voice stopped her. She turned to him, and saw the hardness in his gold eyes.

"I know about Valgarv. Lina had to tell me about it, after my dream...."

"Valteira-"

"No, Mom. Don't. Don't... think about it anymore. At all." He smiled, a grin that split his face and made his cheeks dimple. "I love you. For everything. You believed in Valgarv. I think, he could have loved you. The way I do." He folded her into his arms and held her close.

"That's so sweet! Oh, Zel...." Lina's voice came from the door. "I'm so glad!"

Filia flushed bright red and ducked out of Val's arms. "Lina, Zelgadis! Come in, come in!"

"What about me?" Xelloss asked as he teleported in.

"No!" Lina shouted before Filia could even begin a scream of "Namagomi!"

"We still haven't forgiven you," Zelgadis explained.

"Forgiven him for what?" Filia's brow furrowed. "What did you do this time, Xelloss?!"

"It's my job! You understand, Lina. I have to follow orders after all."

"Even when those orders include killing Val?!!"

"WHAT!?"

Filia's shriek nearly blew the roof off the shop. Val could see the timbers strain to keep it on. The glass in the door cracked, certainly.

Lina and Zel dove behind the counter for cover as Filia screamed Xelloss's name and whipped Mace-sama off her garter. Valteira bolted for the kitchen. Closing the door behind him, he watched as the ruckus in the next room shook the wall, knocking down a small sign. He bent to pick it up.

"Home Sweet Home," he read, and smiled. "No kidding."

***

"NAMAGOMI!!!"

*********

the end.

Finally. This last part was just a cute little scene to wrap things up and get Filia more screen time ^_^ And of course she had to get the last word in.

Please direct all comments to Elise (eigwayne@cs.com) until Linatachi get their own emails ^_-

And believe me, this is not the end for our group. It's really just the beginnning.

Special thanks and love to all who reviewed!


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